I love this woman so much! Carolyn Mabry, aka Caroleeena (with 3 E’s!), is a pioneer in the hooping community. She was one of the first hoopers to put tutorials up on YouTube. Can you imagine? Have you searched on hooping tutorials lately?

She taught and performed at Hoopcamp this year and there was NO WAY I was going to miss her. Her chest hooping video is how I learned to chest hoop and I share that video with all of my students.

Teaching Fancy Footwork

This lady is also helping hoopers put dance into their hoopdance through a Facebook group called “Putting the Dance in Hoopdance.” The goal is to dance first, hoop second. Every week she encourages members to explore a different aspect of dance and create and share a video. The results are very fun and inspiring. Definitely check it out.

After listening to this interview, please check out all the links I’ve provided on the blog. There’s tons of good information on Caroleeena, how to subscribe to her YouTube Channel, witness some of her performances and sign up for Interdependence 2015 – An Exploration Of Fire Theater.

OK. I have got to stop bitching about my voice recorder. It’s actually pretty cool. It’s operator error – it’s all me. So a big thank you goes out to my friend Joel again for loaning it to me!

This is Episode 9. I had a fortuitous meeting with Beth Lavinder, of all places, at the last indoor hoop jam of the season for the Bay Area Hoopers in San Francisco! I was visiting the Bay Area and she was on her way to teach at Jaguar Mary’s Sacred Circularities in Bali.

She told me she’s not really comfortable about talking about herself. I feel pretty lucky. She opened up and shared so much about herself and her hoop journey starting out in Carrboro, North Carolina seeing Vivian (Spiral) for the first time, hooping with Julia Hartsell and Baxter and her experience with The Hoop Path.

Beth Lavinder

Beth is part of my hoop journey. The first time I saw her was at the Northwest Hoop Gathering in Bend, Oregon, April 2009. I walked into the big gym where the event was taking place and saw sooooooo many hoopers doing incredible things!! And Beth was one of them. She was rolling her hoop up her body with her hair flying. So beautiful. I saw her again at Hoop Convergence in North Carolina in 2010 and then we were actually able to sit down and talk at Hoopcamp in Santa Cruz in 2010. This is an incredible lady and an inspirational hooper.

We really do have an amazing community. I hope to introduce you to so many of its members.

Next episode is the 10th! And it is in honor of the Bay Area Hoopers’ 10th Anniversary.